The Effigy
by maggpye
Summary: Two years ago, the effervescent doppleganger Tatia rose from the grave with no knowledge as to how or why. Although she's been trying to keep a safe distance between her and the family who destroyed her, some things just can't stayed buried. This story is just my drabbles.


"Do you love him?"

The question was asked so casually, so carelessly, it was as if it didn't matter. But she knew better. The young woman closed her eyes and folded her hands over the pit of her stomach as if to contain it. Her lips sucked in a breath of air sharply and released it in an audible wind. She turned her head to look at the young man laying opposite her, he was staring upward at the blue skies, the grass flicking lightly against his body. His face distorted, half torn between concern and the other trying desperately to prove it didn't matter.

"Does it matter?", Tatia answered finally before looking back towards the sky as his glance shifted towards hers. As it would seem, they were fated forever to play a game of catch and mouse. One trying to catch the other staring, the other hiding emotions and feelings.

"I suppose not," he spoke surrendering and returning his gaze to the sky. She could count down the seconds. She knew him, despite his best efforts to pull the wool over her eyes. And there it was, the heavy sigh that heaved against his chest before he rolled onto his side to prop himself up on an elbow adjacent to her. He was watching her for some kind of an answer, he would have given it to her if he hadn't been so impatient. Niklaus was, in every aspect of the word, passionate. He was arrogant and naive, but never cruel. He wanted so desperately to love and to be loved in return, his poetic heart weighed against his better judgement in every day life. He yearned for family, stability, and safety. He was so very sensitive in a time that regarded such a characteristic of man as a weakness. And so he would become strong, cold, like a stone statue. But at that moment, as Tatia turned to look back at him, he was as warm as the sun on her face.

"What?" she laughed and looked past him to the white clouds overhead.

"You know what." he quickly grunted before sitting up to pout having not gotten his way.

"Niklaus-"

"I saw the two of you last night.", he shot a glance in her direction before avoiding her stare.

"Were you spying on me?"

"No!", he defended quickly and grabbed a fistful of grass, "I shouldn't have done what I did last night. It drove you off, and when I found you to apologize you were talking to _him._"

"You refer to him as _him_?", her soft laugh brought a smile to his brooding features, "He's your brother."

"So you might understand why it is like poison on my tongue. _Him_.", he used the tone again in hopes to make her laugh. She did.

Tatia smiled for a moment before letting her features fall, looking the grass he ripped from the ground.

"I feel safe with him." she said, finally breaking the silence. His hands stopped shredding the grass and he look away from her while she continued, "He's brave, strong, and kind."

"And he loves you.", Klaus pitched in while getting to his feet.

"Nik-"

"Don't say anymore, Tatia.", he straightened his appearence and tucked his long hair behind his ears, "Please. You're going to start sounding like my father-"

"Stop it, you're being cruel.", she followed his stand and as she began to dust off the back of her dress, he started walking away. The brunette grabbed a hand full of the green dress she wore and stomped through the grass after him, "Nik, stop!"

The barely audible voice over the intercom echoed against the ears of the sleeping passenger. The gray hood over her tangled mousy hair stuck shrouded most of her face as she leaned against the glass of the window, rousing from her slumber. She looked at the old woman who sat beside her smiling broadly. Earlier she had spoken of not having seen her grandchildren in nearly five years and her daughter had finally divorced the son of a bitch who was keeping her from her family. Family drama. Wasn't that the reason Tatia had gotten on the bus in the first place? It was easy to swear off the Mikaelson family. It was even easy to hide from them, of course it did help when they all figured you had crossed over, found peace, or whatever bullshit you wanted to believe about an afterlife. Well, it had been easy for the two years until the unsettling letter in the mail she received contained a bus ticket in which was sent to her.

It was the second time Esther had beckoned her like she was some sort of a pawn to be moved across a chess board since Tatia had been topside. Around two years ago she had awoken to the feeling of drowning outside of what was her homeland over one thousand years ago. She stalked out of the water, naked, bewildered and lost in the middle of the night. It was quite a feeling. She had been ripped from a warm and safe endless slumber. She had found her peace, she had confronted her demons. Death had been easy, life was hard. She hadn't wanted to come back. But under the glow of the full moon that night, she was forced to accept the thing she could not change. She was alive again, there was no changing.

The twenty something year old woman writhed in pain from sleeping on a bus and bent her neck this and that way before looking out the window. The city of New Orleans bustled and jived as if it was composed of and moved with all the jazz music that leaked out onto it's cobblestone streets.

"I can't believe it.", the old woman gasped beside her. Tatia turned to look at her and saw her warm eye filling with tears. She was finally coming home to her family. It was sweet. If only she could find the same joy. The truth was, she had loved so deeply in her youth that looking back was just painful. Somethings are better left hidden, better left buried, better left dead.

As the bus reached it's stop in front of the station, the air breaks let out a loud hiss and the passengers on the bus jumped to their feet. The majority of them were infected with the jive and thrill of the city as soon as they crossed the town line and were eager to frolic with the natives. Tatia remained city and stared out the window into the crowd of people. Among them a man stood, unmoved as the crowd moved around him like a rock jutting out of a stormy ocean. Their eyes met and Tatia heaved a big sigh before raised an eyebrow curiously and getting to her feet. She hoisted the strap of her bag over her shoulder and muttered under her breath.

"Good to know the Mikealsons are exactly the same.", she sighed and made her way towards the front of the bus. By the time she was taking the two steps down to the open door, the same man was standing before her holding out a hand.

"Finn." she nodded bitterly and let his hand stay extended towards her as she refused to take it, "Nice meat suit."

"I like to think of it as a second chance.", he straightened the jacket of his suit and lowered his eyes to the woman's level before returning the tone bitterness, "We can't all come back in our original forms."

Tatia stood still as the bus crept away from it's parking spot and continued to lock eyes with the eldest Mikealson, "Right. Well, you can take that up with your mother."

"Mother will be glad you could make it.", he spoke as a matter-of-factly and grabbed her by the back of the arm, leading her away from the bus stop, "You two have a lot to catch up on."

"Not that much." she grunted while yanking her arm away, "Besides, she didn't really leave me a choice, did she?"

"All the same, she will be happy you didn't try to run _again._"

"Yeah, well, no offense but an audience with your mother has never ended well."

"No matter, you're here now."

_Right_. Tatia rolled her eyes and slid into the passenger seat of the car Finn had led her to. She looked towards the cityscape as the car began moving, Finn to cowardice, or too thoughtful, to say anything and Tatia too stubborn to engage in any kind of conversation with her personal tour guide.

"I hope you will not wander too much while you're here.", Finn advised not looking towards her, "It would be in everyone's best interests if you -"

"I got it, Finn. Prisoner."

"Not a prisoner."

"No?"

"A guest." Finn glanced towards the brunette, and gave what might be confused as a smile if Tatia hadn't known better.

"A guest?", she snorted and turned towards the man, "I've heard that before."

"Nevertheless.", he cleared his throat and fell into a wave of silence. They both knew she wasn't a guest, despite his attempts to sugar coat the truth. If there was one thing Tatia knew, it was that Ester always wanted something.


End file.
